By Elizabeth Shannon, Knight Curatorial Fellow at Bass Museum of Art

I have been reflecting on my previous twelve months of activities, as many people do when one year wanders off into the sunset and another one bursts onto the scene. I’ve been lucky enough to have worked on a number of exciting projects (with lots more coming up in 2014), but often the things that stand out in my memory are not those that end up proudly presented on my resume. So, in the (not entirely serious) spirit of such annual ruminations, here are the five main lessons from my experiences to date as the Knight Curatorial Fellow at the Bass Museum of Art.

1. That pink oil-based paint is not going to wash out of your shorts. The first exhibition that I worked on at the Bass Museum was “TIME”, a show that includes Hernan Bas’s “A Queer and Curious Cabinet”, a veritable cornucopia of weird and wonderful things chosen and presented by the artist.

Hernan Bas, “A Queer and Curious Cabinet”, 2013. Photo: Daniel Portnoy

As you can see, a large part of the installation crew’s time was spent painting things pink. In fact, so much needed to be pink that I started painting too, resulting in my new ‘painting shorts’ – destined to be pink forever more. You can view the finished installation at the Bass Museum, along with the rest of “TIME”, until February 23, 2014. The shorts are at the back of my wardrobe awaiting my next painting job.

2. If you can get a plastic cone to ‘smize’ you can pretty much achieve anything. Aside from working on “TIME”, one of my first jobs at the Bass was to assist with the coordination of Art Basel Miami Beach’s “Public” exhibition in Collins Park, which was curated by Nicholas Baume and entitled “Social Animals”.

“Social Animals”, December 2013. Photo: Chelsea Guerdat.

Many of the works remain on view in the park as part of the Bass Museum’s “TC: Temporary Contemporary” public art program. However, before the installation period arrived there were numerous small practical tasks that had to be undertaken. As I quickly discovered, when your colleagues are trying to organize an exhibition in Miami Beach from their offices in Switzerland, sometimes they require you to undertake unusual tasks, such as my personal favorite, repeatedly photographing a plastic cone – which I did very successfully, I think you’ll agree.

The cone. It is now represented by Elite Modeling Agency and is currently dating Leonardo DiCaprio.

3. Beware of the Ants. During the run-up to Art Basel Miami Beach, much of my time was dedicated to helping coordinate the performance component of “Social Animals”. In particular, I spent a lot of time in the Rotunda building in Collins Park. Because it’s usually kept locked up, simply opening the front doors to this local landmark attracted people curious to see inside. Once we had installed artist David Colman’s “Santa Confessional”, the curiosity reached fever-pitch.

Installing the confessional for David Colman’s “Santa Confessional” project. The judicious wearing of trousers indicates that this photograph was taken post anthill incident. Photo: Chelsea Guerdat.

Coordinating and installing this work had a number of memorable aspects, but the standout lesson for me was to not step in anthills – particularly when wearing a skirt and sandals. Heartfelt thanks goes to the colleague who pointed out the zillions of ants running up my leg just before they had a chance gnaw off my limb and carry it back to their anthill.

The beasties’ home. They refused to be photographed, but they in there nonetheless.

David Colman, “Santa Confessional”, 2013. A performance the ants couldn’t spoil.

4. Sometimes during Art Basel you’ll want to lie down somewhere quiet. Everyone told me that my first Art Basel was going to be pretty full-on – I can’t pretend I wasn’t warned – but, my goodness, it was intense and exhausting, as well as extremely interesting and fun. By the end of the installation in Collins Park, everyone was very much in need of a rest.

A well-deserved rest. Photo: Chelsea Guerdat

Tony Tasset, “Bear”, 2013. The Bear is lying down due to sheer laziness, as opposed to work-related exhaustion. You can currently see him standing up in Collins Park as part of “TC: Temporary Contemporary.”

And at that point Art Basel hadn’t even started yet…

5. When asked to take part in a performance artwork, just say yes! (But perhaps check what it’s going to entail first.) During the public opening night of “Social Animals” I turned up at just the right moment to be asked to help light Olaf Breuning’s “Smoke Grid”. Just as when I stepped on the anthill, while climbing the ladder I briefly considered the wisdom of wearing trousers more regularly. But despite getting a face full of smoke while trying to light a final troublesome pyrotechnic device, it was a very memorable and special experience.

Bravely mounting the ladder in front of Olaf Breuning’s “Smoke Grid” (and holding on for dear life). Photo: Chelsea Guerdat.

10. Olaf Breuning, “Smoke Bombs”, 2013.

Although I promise to deal with more substantial fare in future posts, I couldn’t resist writing about some of my more anecdotal experiences. So goodbye 2013 – I can’t wait to see what 2014 has in store, and this time I’ll take more care to watch where I step.